עָרִיץ
a.rits
ruthless
Lexicon Entry
Lexicon data from STEPBible TIPNR, Tyndale House, Cambridge. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.
What Original Readers Understood
ExploredThe Hebrew word "עָרִיץ" (a.rits) is defined as "ruthless." This adjective is used 20 times in the Bible to describe individuals or groups that exhibit a lack of mercy or compassion. The word does not convey a sense of strength or power, but rather a disregard for the well-being of others. The usage of "עָרִיץ" spans various contexts, including descriptions of individuals, nations, and even God's actions. This suggests that the concept of ruthlessness is not limited to human behavior, but can also be attributed to divine actions. The word is often used in contrast to words that convey mercy, kindness, or compassion, highlighting the stark difference between these opposing qualities. The significance of "עָרִיץ" lies in its ability to convey the severity of human actions or divine interventions. In a world where mercy and compassion are valued, the concept of ruthlessness serves as a stark reminder of the consequences of unchecked power or unrelenting behavior.
Source data & methodology
Occurrences in Scripture
20 total occurrences across the text
or, ‘Deliver me from the adversary’s hand?’ or, ‘Redeem me from the hand of the oppressors?’
Job 15:20the wicked man writhes in pain all his days, even the number of years that are laid up for the oppressor.
Job 27:13“This is the portion of a wicked man with God, the heritage of oppressors, which they receive from the Almighty.
Psalms 37:35I have seen the wicked in great power, spreading himself like a green tree in its native soil.
Psalms 54:3For strangers have risen up against me. Violent men have sought after my soul. They haven’t set God before them.
Psalms 86:14God, the proud have risen up against me. A company of violent men have sought after my soul, and they don’t hold regard for you before them.
Proverbs 11:16A gracious woman obtains honor, but violent men obtain riches.
Isaiah 13:11I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity. I will cause the arrogance of the proud to cease, and will humble the arrogance of the terrible.
Isaiah 25:3Therefore a strong people will glorify you. A city of awesome nations will fear you.
Isaiah 25:4For you have been a stronghold to the poor, a stronghold to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shade from the heat, when the blast of the dreaded ones is like a storm against the wall.
Isaiah 25:5As the heat in a dry place you will bring down the noise of strangers; as the heat by the shade of a cloud, the song of the dreaded ones will be brought low.
Isaiah 29:5But the multitude of your foes will be like fine dust, and the multitude of the ruthless ones like chaff that blows away. Yes, it will be in an instant, suddenly.
Isaiah 29:20For the ruthless is brought to nothing, and the scoffer ceases, and all those who are alert to do evil are cut off—
Jeremiah 15:21“I will deliver you out of the hand of the wicked, and I will redeem you out of the hand of the terrible.”
Jeremiah 20:11But Yahweh is with me as an awesome mighty one. Therefore my persecutors will stumble, and they won’t prevail. They will be utterly disappointed, because they have not dealt wisely, even with an everlasting dishonor which will never be forgotten.
Ezekiel 28:7therefore, behold, I will bring strangers on you, the terrible of the nations. They will draw their swords against the beauty of your wisdom. They will defile your brightness.
Ezekiel 30:11He and his people with him, the terrible of the nations, will be brought in to destroy the land. They will draw their swords against Egypt, and fill the land with the slain.
Ezekiel 31:12Strangers, the tyrants of the nations, have cut him off, and have left him. His branches have fallen on the mountains and in all the valleys and his boughs are broken by all the watercourses of the land. All the peoples of the earth have gone down from his shadow, and have left him.
Ezekiel 32:12I will cause your multitude to fall by the swords of the mighty. They are all the ruthless of the nations. They will bring the pride of Egypt to nothing, and all its multitude will be destroyed.
Isaiah 49:25But Yahweh says, “Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, and the plunder retrieved from the fierce, for I will contend with him who contends with you and I will save your children.